Warm weather is bringing out spring insects early

ST. LOUIS (KTVI) - Trees are starting to bud up and blossom, birds are singing and there`s a sense of spring in the air.

'Yeah its warm isn`t it,' says Bob Merz, Zoological Manager of Invertebrates. 'It`s oddly warm for this time of year.'

Which might worry many a Midwesterner when it comes to nuisance insects like mosquitos and ticks.

Right now moths, flies, and some mosquitos have been spotted in St. Louis already.

But entomologist Bob Merz is keeping his eyes on some other early insect sightings.

'We are seeing some bees come out right now which is a little disturbing because the flowers haven`t quite caught up yet,' says Merz. 'So some of these bees might be impacted.'

These aren`t the honey bees everyone hears about but instead native bees that live in the region.

In Missouri alone there are more than 452 native species of ground nesting, wood nesting and parasitic bees, and some are starting to appear even though the last blasts of cold air might not be finished quite yet.

'But insects you have to realize they survive by putting out large numbers all at once,' says Merz.

'Some may survive, some may not and I think in the end by the time summer gets here we`re not going to notice any difference.'

Meaning, mosquitos will most likely be just as bad as they were last year.

If you do cut back stems and grasses around the outdoor beds at your house, cut 12-15 inches above the ground.

Native bees like to nest in these hollow stems until March and April when they start appearing again.